Today (22nd May) marks the anniversary of the worst rail disaster in British history, the Quintinhsill Rail Disaster, which will be marked at an annual Memorial Service at Rosebank Cemetery in Edinburgh on Saturday.
Taking place on 22nd May, 1915, at the height of the First World War, the event occurred at the Quintinshill signal box near Gretna Green. A train packed with nearly 500 members of the Leith Battalion of the Royal Scots, travelling from Larbert, collided with a local passenger service at Quintinshill.
Straight afterwards, a Glasgow-bound express train smashed into the wreckage at Quintinshill, setting off a devastating fire which engulfed the troop train. In total, around 226 people were killed (215 of whom were soldiers) and a further 246 people were injured.
Some bodies were never recovered, having been wholly consumed by the fire, and when the bodies of the men of the Royal Scots were returned to Leith, they were buried together in a mass grave in Rosebank Cemetery.
As we mark the 111th anniversary of this disaster, it is heartening to see continued recognition of this event, which I suspect few are aware of.
Yours faithfully
Alex Orr
2/3 Marchmont Road
Edinburgh EH9 1HZ